The family opposes the death penalty

Quin has a strong relationship with his great-aunt Mattie Long, sister of the victim.

In this case, the victim’s family is Jones’s family.  Executing Jones will only serve as a second trauma for a family that has already experienced significant loss.  Both Mattie Long, the victim’s sister, and Benjamin Jones, the victim’s great-nephew, are pleading that the State not execute Jones.  Mattie and her sister were close, and her death was profoundly painful.  But Mattie says that executing Jones cannot bring her sister back.  Mattie visits Jones, her great-nephew, in prison.  She says that Jones has grown up and changed for the better.  She recognizes Jones’s remorse. Jones’s twin brother Benjamin also recognizes Jones’s remorse and regularly writes him letters. 

Both have asked that Jones’s life be spared.